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[DJIzana]

With the indie scene having created such cool 8bit looking games like Shovel Knight, Towerfall, Undertale etc... Any chance we'll see more 16bit looking games?

After looking up some amazing looking games like Eastward and the Mother 4 fan game, I really have a craving to see and play more of these! Something about pixel art (probably the nostalgia) but I really like those type of games.

Heck, even seeing prerendered backgrounds on jrpgs would be cool thing to see from the indie scene.

Does anyone have any recommendations for other cool indie titles?

I've dug around in the indie threads but was hoping I might have missed more or something.

 

[Stike]

You mean games that look like this?

 

[sixteen-bit]

You mean games that look like this?

evokes a high resolution final fantasy tactics vibe more than anything 16-bit

@ OP no, lowpoly is the new hotness

 

[louiedog]

That's the vibe that the currently very popular Stardew Valley went for.

 

[Sectorseven]

Prerendered has aged well, but I'm not sure it's really practical anymore.

You could make something comparable using a real time engine with a fixed camera.

 

[DJIzana]

You mean games that look like this?

I'll take that too, yes!

 

[superNESjoe]

You mean games that look like this?

This is more like the 32-bit era spritework. Stardew Valley is a good example, or maybe something like Freedom Planet.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

I'd certainly like to see someone put out faux 16-bit games, especially RPGs, but only if they were actually good. The market is flooded with cheap RPGMaker-looking games with atrocious writing and boring gameplay.

Someone, somewhere, must have a good idea for an SNES-esque RPG that wouldn't be garbage.

 

[Ocaso]

Axiom Verge went for a pseudo-16-bit look (I believe the creator mentioned he was aiming for something between 8 and 16 but, which I think is an accurate assessment). It's also a fantastic game, BTW.

 

[Lord of Ostia]

Cosmic Star Heroine

 

[Syril]

I'd certainly like to see someone put out faux 16-bit games, especially RPGs, but only if they were actually good. The market is flooded with cheap RPGMaker-looking games with atrocious writing and boring gameplay.

Someone, somewhere, must have a good idea for an SNES-esque RPG that wouldn't be garbage.

That's the idea behind Cosmic Star Heroine at least, but it's still in development.

 

[Spring Drive]

How many bits do current games have now?

 

[beril]

Every game in the OP is clearly more 16-bit like than 8-bit so I'm not sure what you're asking for

 

[NotSelf]

Shakedown Hawaii

 

[NinjamicWZ]

Shakedown Hawaii sniped

Though, I'd call most of the stuff I see that might be considered "16bit" going for something between SNES and NeoGeo. Just like "8bit" is rarely ever actually.

 

[DJIzana]

Every game in the OP is clearly more 16-bit like than 8-bit so I'm not sure what you're asking for

I guess maybe was poorly worded on my part. Other people seem to get the general idea though. In general, I'm looking for some modern sprite based RPG or sidescroller games (reminiscent of SNES games). Not huge on simulator type of games.

 

[entremet]

We're pretty much in the 16/32 bit era in the indie scene already. At least for sprite based stuff.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

We're pretty much in the 16/32 bit era in the indie scene already. At least for sprite based stuff.

Couldn't be happier. Itching to maybe throw something together myself on that front. About time really.

To the OP's question, I suppose Freedom Planet and it's upcoming sequel count, but the sequel seems it'll be more like a 32-bit 2D game in visual intensity compared to the predecessor.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

That's the idea behind Cosmic Star Heroine at least, but it's still in development.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, whenever it comes out.

 

[DJIzana]

I have my eye on Cosmic Star Heroine. Definitely evokes a FF / Secret of Evermore vibe!

Shadown Hawaii looks great too! I haven't seen that one until now!

We're pretty much in the 16/32 bit era in the indie scene already. At least for sprite based stuff.

If this is the case then I am going to be pretty excited to see new games get announced!

 

[RedSwirl]

Pier Solar, and the developer's next project. Both are developed to actually run on the Genesis.

I think you're going to continue to see games that try to play off as "8-bit" because it's cheap and it's what's widely known. The thing is though, most of those games aren't really 8-bit at all. 8-bit used to represent a level of technology, now it's just an aesthetic assigned to a whole lot of games an actual NES or 8-bit PC could never dream of running. Most of them are probably beyond the specifications of an SNES or Genesis to be honest. Shovel Knight is a huge exception, and two others are Oniken and Odallus, which were generally made according to NES spec and then pushed a bit further where the devs felt necessary.

"16-bit" in my opinion is a bit harder to nail down just going of aesthetics. A lot of indie games right now probably look more like SNES games or Genesis games or even GBA games than anything that could run on an NES: Timespinner, Chasm, Nuclear Throne, even probably Hyper Light Drifter. I don't think you'd really nail it unless you did what WaterMelon did and actually took a hard look at the Genesis hardware and what rules its games had to follow. Another good example is Freedom Planet which looks and feels like a Genesis game with CD Audio (so a Sega CD game I guess).

Part of me wishes that instead of just throwing a bunch of sprite art together, that some trend would have grown up around developing original authentic NES ROMs that could run on NES emulators, and they maybe things would get bumped up to Genesis and SNES after a while.

 

[StereoVsn]

There is a great example of this albeit as an action RPG with CrossCode which is in Early Access on Steam. It's pretty darn awesome. Artwork is very good including environment, char and skill animation. It also has that late 80s - early 90s sci-fi anime vibe.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/368340/

Note that environments above are actually animated but that doesn't show in static Steam screens.

 

[Burt]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxACyXRhci4

Trailer has some rough spots, but I'm working through 'em.

And yeah, CrossCode looks awesome

 

[Purple Cheeto]

Considering most supposed 8 bit games can't even properly nail that aesthetic, I dunno.

Pixel art isn't going away if that is what you're asking.

 

[StereoVsn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxACyXRhci4

Trailer has some rough spots, but I'm working through 'em.

And yeah, CrossCode looks awesome

That game looks pretty interesting. Is that on greenlight?

 

[Syril]

That game looks pretty interesting. Is that on greenlight?

It's in early access and has a demo. The demo is so fun and actually pretty extensive.

EDIT: wait do you mean CrossCode or 1257? I was talking about CrossCode.

 

[lazygecko]

Project Y got you covered

Actual Genesis game and not just a modern approximization.

 

[RedSwirl]

Oh, and search "RPGMaker" on Steam. You'd be shocked at how many of those are actually on Steam.

 

[StereoVsn]

It's in early access and has a demo. The demo is so fun and actually pretty extensive.

EDIT: wait do you mean CrossCode or 1257? I was talking about CrossCode.

No the YouTube video. I know CrossCode is in EA. Bought that and trying to push it every time I get.

 

[StereoVsn]

Oh, and search "RPGMaker" on Steam. You'd be shocked at how many of those are actually on Steam.

We are trying to discuss actually good games. I have bough decent amount of RPGMaker games and yet to see one good RPG. There are a few decent/ok ones but in general they are not up to par.

 

[Burt]

That game looks pretty interesting. Is that on greenlight?

Thanks! I have a Greenlight Concepts page for it that's woefully unupdated. I do occasional devlogs over at TIGSource, but I've just been so busy the last few weeks I really haven't been able to give either their just due.

 

[epmode]

We are trying to discuss actually good games. I have bough decent amount of RPGMaker games and yet to see one good RPG. There are a few decent/ok ones but in general they are not up to par.

Tales of Game’s Studios Presents Chef Boyardee’s Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa

 

[StereoVsn]

Tales of Game’s Studios Presents Chef Boyardee’s Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa

It's not bad, I've played it. It's also a parody RPG, there are some good ones by Cosmic Star Heroine devs, for example. It's still not a very good one either. Really, 16-bit/32-bit sprite based RPGs are sorely missing in action.

Well, Secrets of Grindea does have 16-bit look and it's pretty good.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/269770/

The one thing I am not digging too much is the overall environment art as it looks too smoothed and has mobile game style, but can't have everything. That's one reason I keep bringing up CrossCode so much as the terrain art looks awesome.

Thanks! I have a Greenlight Concepts page for it that's woefully unupdated. I do occasional devlogs over at TIGSource, but I've just been so busy the last few weeks I really haven't been able to give either their just due.

Ah, excellent, the game looks pretty cool. One thing that is probably way too much to ask, but is there any way to make the overworld terrain appear less flat? Dungeons seem to have nice texture but if you look at that grassy plain with the lake in the middle, its very flat terrain, even some grass texture in the pixels would help. Otherwise, looks great and can always use more SJRPGs (yes, yes, SJRPG look and feel).

 

[Orayn]

Tales of Game’s Studios Presents Chef Boyardee’s Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa

Only the very earliest demo version of it was actually on RPG Maker, they moved to Game Maker shortly after that.

 

[Khaz]

I like when the devs try to work with the limits of the original machine, instead of just going for a vague "visually 8/16 bits" which doesn't mean much. Retro City Rampage had a NES prototype, and a real release for the IBM PC 486.

Shovel Knight and Mega Man 9 should have been designed for and released on the NES in addition to the modern platforms.

 

[JetSetRadio]

Best bits ever.

 

[CrashPrime]

I like when the devs try to work with the limits of the original machine, instead of just going for a vague "visually 8/16 bits" which doesn't mean much. Retro City Rampage had a NES prototype, and a real release for the IBM PC 486.

Shovel Knight and Mega Man 9 should have been designed for and released on the NES in addition to the modern platforms.

Hot rods and restoration jobs. While I can appreciate a numbers matching Yenko, I'll take modern breaks, suspension, and an LS motor over that authenticity all day long.

 

[Delstius]

We're pretty much in the 16/32 bit era in the indie scene already. At least for sprite based stuff.

I wouldn't say we're in it yet but there's a lot of interesting indies in development with this kind of aesthetic right now (Heart Forth, Alicia, Chasm, Iconoclast, Crimson Legend for example), which is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxACyXRhci4

Trailer has some rough spots, but I'm working through 'em.

Didn't see this since a long time. Really good progress since then.

 

[TwEE-N-Toast]

Check out Owlboy. I have no idea what is going on with that game but it looks nice. http://www.owlboygame.com

This is more like the 32-bit era spritework. Stardew Valley is a good example, or maybe something like Freedom Planet.

8bit and 16bit are meaningless to most people I think. They just mean blocky, less blocky.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

There are tons of examples on steam, but here is 2 I have played recently:

[IMG]http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/368230/ss_5134f8a390c83cd2b37649913b0ed6316cdec7f8.600x338.jpg?t=1452194455[/IMG]

[IMG]http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/356040/ss_c47a05994804193fe2e6e715710366938da81617.600x338.jpg?t=1458210136[/IMG]

Top: Kingdom
Bottom: Sheltered

They are okay games. I liked strawdew valley and enter the gungeon more than the above 2.

 

[charlequin]

Shovel Knight and Mega Man 9 should have been designed for and released on the NES in addition to the modern platforms.

Both of these games were better for being able to selectively overcome NES limitations while still capturing the aesthetic and remembered feel of the system, so I don't know that that would've actually been beneficial at all. (Shovel Knight's soundtrack was actually composed for real NES hardware, though, and virt even released an NSF version of it: https://virt.bandcamp.com/album/shovel-knight-original-soundtrack )

 

[Jon Carter]

I'd like to see 64-bit games. The games on the N64 had a very distinct look. With good art, it would be very interesting to see. Unfortunately, I don't think many people care about the 32-to-128-bit 3D era. To most, I guess early 3D games haven't aged well enough.

 

[Jarnet87]

Tales of Game’s Studios Presents Chef Boyardee’s Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa

At least the backers who paid for the tier with the body pillow can hold it tightly as the tear up wondering if the sequel will ever come out

 

[Lupin the Third]

Part of me wishes that instead of just throwing a bunch of sprite art together, that some trend would have grown up around developing original authentic NES ROMs that could run on NES emulators, and they maybe things would get bumped up to Genesis and SNES after a while.

Much harder to develop a game that way with limited tools and power available. Not surprised it's unpopular. But I second that wish.

Reminds me of when some group announced a "Game Boy" Smash Bros. port, and I was really excited until I found out its just a monochrome PC game. What a waste of time and energy, IMO.

 

[Darryl]

this is the most common aesthetic indie developer's have been chasing since it was a thing. there isn't a chance, it's a certainty. games like this come out daily

 

[tmarg]

Actual 16 bit? No. But I do hope we see more high quality sprite work. The stuff in indie games generally isn't anywhere near the standard set by the last few AAA games that used it.

 

[Burt]

Ah, excellent, the game looks pretty cool. One thing that is probably way too much to ask, but is there any way to make the overworld terrain appear less flat? Dungeons seem to have nice texture but if you look at that grassy plain with the lake in the middle, its very flat terrain, even some grass texture in the pixels would help. Otherwise, looks great and can always use more SJRPGs (yes, yes, SJRPG look and feel).

Yeah, that's actually something that I've been working on, it's just a matter of implementing it while still having it clearly be the 'plains' terrain type, adding 'hills' as a terrain, or finding some other sort of environmental decoration to fill the 'empty' space. That picture is old, though, I just grabbed it out of a folder last night to throw up. There's been work done, especially with the tiling of the river and having a texture and animation on the lake rather than solid blue. Stuff like that.

And yeah, I'm right there with you on the 'JRPG' "issue". I mean, I'm on the JRPG as a genre rather than marker of origin side of the argument, but people still get up in arms about that. I'm already at real-time tactical Japanese role playing game, I really don't want to have to call it a RTTJ(S)RPG.

Didn't see this since a long time. Really good progress since then.

Thanks!

 

[Nyoro SF]

+1 for CrossCode, that 16-bit style and the action was what led me to back it.

 

[Log4Girlz]

Mmm love me some 2d. I want games made to run on 2d arcade simulators. Like the best 2d arcade hardware.

 

[Harothewanderer]

I think at the moment pixelart is more on the point of finding its own identity as an artstyle with stuff like Titan Souls, Hyper Light Drifter and Fez. I kinda assume the big wave of hommage games is over.